Edwards, Neil, 1939-2003

Biography

Neil Edwards was born George Elliot McNeil on February 11, 1939, to George lliot McNeil and Elizabeth McKinney, and was raised in Virginia. His parents also had a daughter, whose name is not known. His mother eventually divorced her husband, who was said to have "tormented" her and their children. As an adult, the younger George Elliot McNeil legally changed his name to Neil Edwards to avoid any connection with his father's name. Neil adored his mother, who went on to marry another man, Wilbur Peck.

Little is known of Neil's formative years. After leaving Virginia, he moved to New York City and took a few classes in computers and arts at the City College of New York. During this period he also worked as a set designer on Broadway summer stock productions, where he met prominent entertainers such as Marlene Dietrich, Carol Channing, and Barbra Streisand.

Along with contemporaries such as Bob Mizer's Athletic Model Guild, Walter Kundzicz's Champion Studios, and more independent photographers such as David of Cleveland, Bruce of Los Angeles, Edwards played a part in creating the mid-twentieth century phenomenon known as physique photography. Intended to skirt and evade censors of the time, physique photography was designed to produce erotic photographs of male and female models for consumers who could not obtain such materials from any other source. Physique photographers utilized any loophole they could find to produce, release, and distribute their product. Early models were photographed with skimpy posing straps, and photographs, catalogs and magazines of nude or near-nude models were released with editorial commentary suggesting that the photos were produced to satisfy the interests of naturists, fans of sport and bodybuilding, or budding human form artists.

Edwards' work as a physique photographer appears to have fallen between the years of 1964 and 1969, when he lived in Philadelphia: the earliest model release in the collection is dated March 1964, the latest January 1969. Mailings for his studio and model releases from this period also give a studio address in New York City, so it is believed he split his time between the two cities. It is not known how Edwards came to be a physique photographer. His associate, Scott Wachtler, believes that photography was a hobby for Edwards and that he entered the field of physique photography in the belief that he could do a better job than those currently in the field.

At the height of his photographic productivity, Edwards' work appeared in the pages of and on the covers of several male fitness magazines, including The Young Physique and Muscleboy, some of which are represented in this collection. Edwards also is known to have to produced one periodical showcasing his work exclusively, The Edwardians, of which three or four issues were published, and possibly one other magazine, Blueboy (long preceding the better-known, gay erotic photography magazine of the same name), which featured a male model posed in the same fashion as John Singer Sargent's Blueboy painting.

Wachtler does not believe that Edwards was a standard portrait photographer during his time as a physique photographer. However, his collection contains several examples of portrait and other photography, and he may have worked on a commission basis during this time, taking standard photographs for friends or paying clients.

As with other photographers of the day, Edwards' work started out tame, with models wearing posing straps and rarely touching themselves, and progressed to more obviously erotic work in later years, with models fully nude, sometimes shown touching themselves and on some occasions posed with other male models in tame but sexually suggestive situations.

Eventually, Edwards was targeted by the Philadelphia District Attorney, Arlen Specter, for his physique photography work. Edwards' home was raided by police, who confiscated all his photographic equipment, most of his film, and his mail-order lists. Edwards was not arrested, nor was he ever charged for a crime. However, he petitioned for over a year for the return of his equipment. At one point, he was told the equipment had been lost, and eventually he was told that the raid never took place. This loss ruined Edwards financially, forcing him to go on public welfare, and depressed him emotionally, eventually resulting in a nervous breakdown that saw him committed to New York's Bellevue Hospital for a short time. It is unknown precisely when this raid occurred; however, Edwards' photographic output ceased abruptly in 1969.

Edwards never took up professional photography again, and instead took a job with American Airlines, eventually developing the company's SABRE computer reservation system. When American asked Edwards to move to Texas, he refused and was bought out of his contract. Edwards used the money to move to Tampa, Florida, where he opened a restaurant, Neil's, which was popular with locals, but did not make enough money to sustain itself and ended in bankruptcy. Edwards then went to work as an art critic for a local classical music radio station. It was there that he developed a computer software program, Music Director, that automatically scheduled classical music for radio stations all over the country. In 1989, he created the company Broadcast Data Consultants, the firm where he met Wachtler.

Edwards' sister died in the mid 1990s of lung disease, and his mother and stepfather died in the late 1990s. Edwards himself died in Clearwater, Florida, on December 16, 2003, of the hereditary lung condition, pulmonary fibrosis, which may also have been the cause of his sister's death.

Source: Scott Wachtler

From the guide to the Neil Edwards photography collection, circa 1950-circa 1970, 1964-1969, (ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.)